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"It's not my debt he's calling in," I said, protesting.
"She's right," Smoky said, relenting. "There's something going on out on my land, and I want your opinion. I choose to avoid getting entangled until I know more about what I'm facing."
Chase scowled. "What's going on? We already have a butt load of crap to contend with."
Smoky shifted. I started to get up, but he held tight to my waist, and once again, the heat from his hands burned into me. "It seems I have a visitor. I need you to find out just what she's up to. I believe you met her a couple months ago."
I glanced over at Menolly, who shrugged. "Who is it? And why don't you just ask her what she wants, yourself?"
He let out a slow laugh, almost ominous. "I don't care for the lady. I find her… off-putting. And Titania had some dealings with her centuries ago. The two are at odds. But she wants something, and she's made camp out near my barrow. I think she's trying to find Titania, to be honest, but the Fae Queen emeritus is making herself scarce these days."
I frowned. Who the hell was he talking about? But I knew better than rush him. He'd spill it when he was ready.
"This morning," he added leisurely, "a murder of crows came winging in, with one large raven at the forefront. They landed near Titania's barrow and were pecking around. I fried them for breakfast, save one as a warning to their mistress."
A murder of crows . . . hell's bells.
"I know who you're talking about," I said, prying my way out of his lap. I whirled around to face him. "Morgaine—Morgaine's on your land, isn't she?"
He tapped his forehead. "I knew you'd get it."
Feddrah-Dahns whinnied and stomped his feet. The look in his eye was far from friendly. "You must not let her know about the horn! She's been looking for it long and hard. Morgaine came to the Windwillow Valley not five months past to demand our help. We ran her off."
I slowly turned back to the unicorn. "What on earth does Morgaine want with the horn?" Other than to obtain incredible power, that is.
He nervously pranced in place. "I don't know, but I have a feeling it has to do with the Unseelie Court."
Chapter Six
"The Unseelie Court?" I shook my head. "But the supreme courts of Fae were abandoned right before the Great Divide. They only exist in memory now."
Delilah settled on the sofa, cross-legged. "It doesn't make sense."
"No, it doesn't." I turned back to Smoky. "Aeval, the Unseelie Queen, disappeared thousands of years ago. No one knows where she went to or if she's alive or dead. And Titania's pretty much running on empty, as we know."
Titania had been the Seelie Queen before the Great Divide, Aeval the Unseelie Queen. Aeval had been a terrifying spectacle of a woman, as beautiful and cruel and ruthless as Titania had been beautiful and gracious… and ruthless.
Smoky let out a perturbed huff. "I have no idea what Morgaine is up to, but I don't want her on my land. However, I thought you might like to find out what she has in mind before I turn her into my lunch." He stood, nearly knocking his head against the chandelier on the ceiling. He brushed past it with an irritated wave of the hand.
"As I said, Titania's in hiding," he added. "After you took that annoying man of hers away, she sank into a drunken stupor and disappeared inside her barrow. I believe she blames me for letting you take Tom. So, if I were you, I wouldn't count on her for help."
Iris headed toward the kitchen. "I'll get us all some tea. I think we can use it."
"Let me help you," Chase said, following her. "I'm about as useless as a blank book when it comes to Fae queens and Supe politics."
Menolly slowly lowered herself to ground level. "Morgaine was always a power-hungry thing. I wonder…"
I glanced at her. "Wonder what? Do you think she's trying to resurrect the past, only with herself at the helm? That's a possibility. But if so, why would she be seeking the Merlin? He'd put a stop to her plans immediately if she's looking to create a new Unseelie Court. Morgaine was his greatest pupil, but she's more apt to pull a Darth Vader on him than actually follow in his footsteps."
Delilah grabbed a bowl of Fritos off the table and began to munch. "The problem is, if any of the Fae queens—including any aspiring applicants—are looking to stage a comeback, there must be something going on to spur them into action. Are they looking to gain power to fight the demons? Maybe rally the Earthside Fae against the coming war? Remember, Morgaine did show up at the first Supe Community meeting we had. By the way, we've scheduled the next meeting in three weeks to see what progress everybody's made by then."
"Whatever the case, we can't ignore her," Feddrah-Dahns said. "If Morgaine were to gain possession of the horn of the Black Beast, she'd be as formidable as a demon and more unpredictable. She's never respected humanity, even though she's half-human like yourselves."
I glanced at the calendar. We were days away from the equinox. Could there be a connection between Morgaine's appearance and the coming holy day? There were too many questions and not enough answers.
"So what are our priorities? In order?" Menolly asked as Iris entered the room, tea tray in hand. It was almost as big as she was, I thought. We needed to buy a tea caddy for her.
Smoky graciously took the tray from her and set it on the coffee table. She gave him a winsome smile, her golden hair shimmering in the dim light.
